Brett Van Valkenburg interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

My name is Brett Van Valkenburg. I was born, raised, and educated in upstate New York. Quite the rollercoaster, I know. Upon graduation I moved to NYC where I work for a major financial institution while writing fiction and children's stories in my free time.

When did your love of books begin?

I started reading horror stories and Calvin & Hobbes on my own around the age of 8, but I only became an avid reader in my senior year of high school. I hardly ever liked the reading assigned to me in school. I found it too pedestrian. I was belatedly introduced to Kurt Vonnegut by my late high English teacher (who else?), and that was when I realized that there was a whole world of oddball literature that suited my taste.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I've always had creative ideas--fragments of scenes that didn't really connect to anything bigger, but it was only during the summer of 2003, while I was working at Remington Arms (the firearms manufacturer) that I began to piece together my first long-form story. I was folding boxes that would eventually be filled with shotguns and rifles. The work was so mindless and repetitive that it kind of lulled me into a meditative state where my mind was able to really wander free while my body was engaged in menial labor. I had a lot of ideas that summer, some of which I eventually molded into a terrible novel that will most likely never see the light of day, god help us all.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Very challenging. Finding the motivation to hammer a story into shape and then edit it a thousand times is difficult enough, but then, once finished, you have to treat marketing your book like it's a second job. It can be very frustrating and confusing, but I just keep at it. If my books ultimately don't go as far as I hoped they would, at least I can say I tried my best.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

1) Life-threatening amounts of coffee are your friend.

2) Whatever you first write is probably going to suck. Don't get discouraged. All writers feel this way. Take that sucker and edit the hell out of it until you can kind of stand to read it.

3) Use online resources for everything from writing to book marketing. There are a ton of useful tools and helpful people out there if you're willing to look.

4) Take your criticism seriously even though it can hurt--learn from it--but follow your gut as well. Occasionally your critics are off the mark. Occasionally.

Tell us about your book/books:

I have two published works. The first, Worse Than Dying, is a zombie novel that takes place in a small town. A teenager must step up and become the man of the house when his father suffers a nervous breakdown. It's a dark fast-paced novel about familial love, betrayal, revenge, and, of course, plenty of flesh-eating zombies. My second published book is a children's picture book (quite the spectrum, I know) titled Suzie Buttler's First Day of School. It's about an anthropomorphic butt's first day of school--and the prejudice and bullying she must overcome for being different. (Yes, I'm serious.) It's a really cute book that addresses themes like not fitting in, bullying, and the content of a person's character being more important than their outward appearance. Timeless lessons packaged in a wacky wrapping. Your kids won't even know they're learning, I swear!

I have a couple things on deck that I keep vacillating between, one is a novel about time travel and the other is a historical piece.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

The writing community is most often very supportive. Everyone is kind and willing to help out if they can. It really is a crowd that believes a rising tide lifts all boats. It also helps to know that everyone trying to "make it" is going through the same things you're going through. In an isolated, autonomous craft like writing, the community makes you feel less alone.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Buy 17 more copies of each of my books. No, really thank you for supporting me--for discovering a book with only a handful of reviews and taking a chance. Every time I see that someone bought something I created or left a nice review, I get a thrill that makes me want to keep going. That feeling truly never goes away. Thank you and keep reading.

Where can people connect with you?

People can go to my website at www.brettvanvalkenburg.com. I'm also on Instagram and Twitter at @brettvwrites, and my books can be found on Amazon.com as well as most other online retailers.